By Blood
by rmonroe
Summary: When Eliot's niece and nephew are kidnapped by an old enemy, it's up to the team to get them home again, as long as Eliot's past issues with his brother don't get in the way.
1. Chapter 1

"Okay, did you _see _that? C'mon man, that ain't right," Hardison complained, glaring at Parker.

"Hardison!" Eliot snapped, passing the salad around. "She's a thief! What the hell do you expect?"

Parker smiled and popped the last remaining bite of Hardison's breadstick into her mouth.

Hardison just shook his head while Sophie chuckled and Nate ducked his head to hide his smile.

"You don't steal a man's breadstick, is all I'm sayin'," Hardison muttered.

"But they're really good," Parker said, her mouth still full.

"Yes, they really are," Sophie said, cutting her lettuce leaves into smaller pieces. "You outdid yourself, this time, Eliot."

Eliot was saved from having to think of a response by his phone going off. He pulled it out and glanced at the screen. He got up immediately, frowning, and walked into Nate's living room as he answered it. The team exchanged glances, all of them returning to their food and trying not to look like they were eavesdropping. They couldn't hear anything specific, but from the tone of his voice they were pretty sure their hitter wasn't getting good news. He returned to the table before long but only to grab his jacket off the back of his chair.

"Eliot?" Nate asked.

He turned to look at them, thin-lipped. "I gotta go to San Antonio for a few days."

"San Antonio? What's in San Antonio?" Nate asked, getting up to follow him as he headed for the door.

Eliot turned to face him, fire in his eyes. "None of your business," he growled.

"Maybe we can help," Sophie chimed in, getting up from the table as well. "If something's wrong you can tell us."

He huffed a sigh, realizing they weren't going to let him just get out of there. "That was my brother. He thinks somebody took my niece and nephew over some corporate legal battle."

They all stared at him for a moment. Then Parker said what they were all thinking. "You have another family? Like, a real one?"

Eliot rolled his eyes, feeling understandably impatient. "Are you coming or not?"

"Always wanted to see San Antonio," Nate announced, grabbing his own jacket.

Hardison whipped out his phone. "I'll have the plane tickets in five."

"It'll be okay, Eliot," Sophie said, giving him an encouraging smile. "If anyone can help your family, it's us."

* * *

"How come you never told us about your real family?" Parker asked from the backseat of the rental car as Eliot sped through the city. He was glad it was late; there were few cars on the highways.

"Because I didn't feel like it," Eliot informed her.

He could imagine her confused pout.

"You know, he did tell us he had a nephew," Sophie put in, turning around from the front to look at the three in the back.

"He did?"

"I did?"

"Yes! At the church, remember? You said your nephew would like Bibletopia," she said as if amazed they couldn't recall a passing comment Eliot had made three years ago.

Eliot smiled, thinking of it. His sister-in-law, Dani, had invited him out to San Antonio not long before that job for Cohen's seventh birthday, just before he'd started working with the team. In fact, it was the last time he'd seen his brother's family. He wondered if the kids even remembered him - Alice had only been three. But the thought of anyone messing with them was making him … angry. In a "people are going to get maimed" sort of way.

"So, what happened?" Nate asked. "You told us on the plane that your brother thinks they were kidnapped to force him into making a deal with a rival oil company, but that's not the whole story, is it?"

Eliot shook his head, pushing his anger down so he could stay focused. "My brother Luke basically runs Valero Energy. He said Tesoro's been tryin' to buy them out for months, and then a couple weeks ago they started getting threatening letters. Then, three days ago, the kids didn't come home on the bus and Luke and Dani called the police but there haven't been any demands made."

"They've been missing for three days and he just barely called you?" Sophie gasped.

Eliot's jaw tightened. "We're not close," he said, hoping that would be enough explanation.

They must have heard something in his tone because Sophie changed the subject and Parker didn't ask any more questions.

When they got to the other Spencer's house, Eliot knocked on the door, the rest of the team hanging back in uncertainty. Eliot had remained tight-lipped on the subject of his brother, but they were getting the idea that they weren't on good terms. And anyone who wasn't on good terms with Eliot made them all nervous, and just a bit protective.

A man answered the door and Eliot gave him nothing more than a nod before going in. The resemblance was there, though not obvious. Luke's hair was close-cropped and he was taller, but his eyes were the same crystal blue, and had the same steely look. Nate shook his hand and offered what he hoped was a reassuring smile as they filed past.

Dani, Luke' wife, sat on the couch, but she stood as they came in and gave Eliot a hug after a moment's hesitation, her eyes misty. "Thanks for coming, Eliot," she said into his shoulder. "We don't know what to do."

Eliot patted her shoulder a little awkwardly before she released him. "I'm gonna get them back, Dani," he promised quietly before introducing the rest of the team.

They moved to the kitchen and sat around the table, Luke leaning against the counter, his arms folded across his chest. "Tell us everything you can," Nate said, leaning toward Dani.

She took a deep breath, her hands clasped in front of her. "Our kids, Cohen and Alice, they've been missing for three days now." She took another breath, blinking away tears. "We thought they wanted them to make Luke sell his oil company but … they called and -"

"They want you, Eliot," Luke said, pushing himself off the counter, his eyes dark. Some guy just called me, and told me he'll trade my kids for you. So what I want to know is, what the hell you're into that put my family in danger!"

Dani rubbed at her forehead wearily. "Luke, don't."

Eliot remained unmoving, returning his brother's glare.

"Okay, hold on here," Nate said. "When did the kidnapper call you?"

Luke swallowed hard. "Just before you got here."

"What else did he say when he called?" Nate asked, the tension between the brothers still palpable.

Luke's glare returned. "He said to tell you that Mason Briggs says hello."

Everyone turned to look at Eliot as he stood suddenly from the table, a low growl in his throat, his hands in fists. "You sure?" he asked his brother.

Luke nodded shortly. "You know him?"

"Yeah, I know him," Eliot muttered, his eyes narrowed.

"Who is it?" Nate asked, hoping his friend would calm down enough to explain.

"Haven't seen the bastard in more than ten years," Eliot said, beginning to pace back and forth across the kitchen. "We served together in Kuwait." They all saw something indefinable cross his face.

"What could he want you for?" Sophie asked, her attention bouncing back and forth between Eliot and Luke.

"And why would he take my kids to get it?" Luke said, stepping toward Eliot.

Nate spoke quickly before things got dangerous. "Let's start with this: did he tell you when he wanted to make the exchange?"

Luke dragged himself away from his glaring match with Eliot to look at Nate. "Tomorrow morning, 5 AM. Eliot is supposed to go to the Tesoro building, alone, and someone will drive the kids home."

"I'll go," Eliot said immediately.

"You can't go alone," Sophie said.

"I'll do whatever I have to do!"

"Not without a plan," Parker said, glaring at him.

"That's only six hours from now, Nate," Hardison warned.

Nate held up his hands, hoping to keep everyone calm. "Listen, we're going to get the kids back and we're not going to do it on the terms of this Briggs guy. Parker, Hardison, I need you looking at schematics for the Tesoro building. Eliot, you need to tell us everything you can about Briggs."

Eliot stopped pacing, his lips pressed into a thin line. "Nate, you don't know what you're getting into. I'm gonna walk in there, you're gonna be there to make sure the kids get out, then you're gonna get the hell outta here."

"Eliot -"

"It's not up for discussion, Nate! This is exactly why I didn't want you here. This is my fight, and my fault, so we're gonna do it my way," he said, threatening the team with his eyes.

They were silent for a moment, none of them agreeing, but none of them daring to say anything. Until Parker stood up. "No," she said, poking his chest. "It's not your fault, and you're not going to do it alone, because you have a family. So don't think for one second that we're gonna abandon you to the crazy kidnapper, because we _won't_."

Eliot's hands twitched like he wanted to strangle her, but she held his gaze until he looked away.

"Parker's right, man," Hardison put in quietly. "We came here to help, so let us."

"Tell us as much as you can, Eliot," Sophie said, offering him a small smile.

Eliot's shoulders slumped in defeat and he pushed his hair out of his eyes. "Fine. But the kids are the top priority, understood?"

The team nodded, remaining silent to give him the time he needed. Nate just hoped Luke would keep his mouth shut.

Eliot looked them each in the eye, letting them know he was being completely honest with them. "We were on the same special forces unit. We hit it off because we were the two youngest in the unit, both of us just shy of twenty-two. One night we were being flown by helicopter into Kuwait for reconnaissance and we were shot down. Briggs and I were the only two survivors and we managed to evade capture even though his right leg had been crushed in the crash."

None of them missed the tightly wound muscles in his jaw and the kitchen stayed absolutely silent.

"We knew there was no one comin' to get us. We had a plan to steal a plane from a nearby base and get out of there, but things went wrong. Briggs got taken, and I got to the plane. I promised him I'd come back for him." With visible effort, Eliot managed to keep his voice steady. "But I didn't. Our commanding officer told me it was too dangerous to go back, and sent me somewhere else, hoping I'd forget about him."

They could all tell he hadn't. Not then, and not now.

"I thought Briggs was dead, but I saw him again in South Africa a year later. I was sent to kill a member of the African embassy who was there to convince the government that Mumbai's genocide was just the first step, but Briggs beat me to it. We saw each other from opposite rooftops, and I could tell he wasn't still working for the army. He'd gone mercenary and he hated me. He pointed his rifle right at me and if I'd moved a little slower I would've gotten more than a scar."

He touched his shoulder, almost absently, his eyes far away.

"He stayed after me for a few years, another person on my growing list of enemies. But after I left the army and went out on my own, after Moreau, he left me alone. I didn't know if he was afraid, or in prison, or dead until today." He put his hands in his pockets, resigned. "I don't know why he wants me now, or how he found you guys," he said, glancing at Luke and Dani.

"I told you to go to school instead of the army, El," Luke said, anger replaced by sadness in his eyes.

"Didn't happen that way, did it?" Eliot said, his mouth twisting into a grimace.

"He's not going to hurt them, is he?" Dani suddenly spoke, her voice trembling.

Eliot squared his jaw. "Not if I can help it."


	2. Chapter 2

Everyone except Eliot settled in around the kitchen table as Hardison shared everything he could find about the Tesoro building. Eliot was only half-paying attention; the rest of his focus was taken up by guilt. He had always been so careful never to leave anything that connected him to Luke and Dani, but he could remember the long nights spent talking with Briggs in those early days, about the families they missed back home.

A touch at his elbow brought him back from the memory and he looked over to see Dani standing next to him, her dark hair pulled away from her face.

"Are you okay?" she asked quietly, unheard by anyone else in the din of Luke arguing with Nate, and Sophie attempting to make peace.

He smiled a little, trying to forget how much he'd missed her in the past three years. "It ain't me you should be worried about," he said softly.

Her red-rimmed brown eyes watched him closely. "I would've called you sooner, you know. But Luke …"

Eliot nodded, looking away. "I know. He must be pretty desperate to let me back here, huh?"

"I think he wishes things could be different too," she said, leaning against the counter next to him. "If that helps."

Eliot continued to stare at the floor. "Not really. But thanks."

She smiled a little, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Cohen asks about you sometimes. He really loved it the last time you were here."

Eliot smiled a sad half-smile.

"Thanks for sending the birthday cards," she added, touching his shoulder.

There was a sudden break in the conversation and Eliot realized they'd come to some kind of conclusion about the plan without him. He looked up to see Luke staring at him with an expression far removed from hospitable but he ignored his brother, going over to Nate.

"You get the escape route for the kids figured out?"

Nate nodded, giving him one of those calculating looks. "Help me grab some stuff from the car?"

Eliot doubted he really needed help getting anything from the car, but followed him outside into the warm Texas night.

"Spit it out," Eliot said, crossing his arms over his chest as soon as the front door closed.

To his credit, Nate didn't try to play innocent, clearly realizing that Eliot was not in the mood to mess around. "I just need to know you're going to be okay to run this."

"Yeah Nate, I'm gonna be able to run this. I have to, don't I?" he spat.

"Your brother? He's not going to be a problem? I know that when things get personal it gets harder to -"

"I'm fine." Eliot's voice was dangerously quiet. "You do your job, and I'll do mine."

Nate nodded. "Okay. Let's do this then."

* * *

The Tesoro building was massive, and highly secured. Fifteen miles outside of downtown San Antonio, it was remote enough to not attract attention, and in the dark of the morning looked deserted except for two black cars in the parking lot.

Eliot stepped out of the rental car, made sure his comm was hidden, and took out Luke's phone. Like he expected, it rang, and Eliot stepped further out into the parking lot as he answered, daring Briggs to take a shot.

"I'm here," he growled into the phone.

"I see you," Briggs said. Eliot could hear the malice in his voice and his concern for his niece and nephew ratcheted up a notch. "I'll send one of my men out to take you up. Play nice or I kill the kids."

"First I need to know they're alive," Eliot ordered, glaring up at the building. "And unhurt."

"Sorry, you'll have to come see for yourself," Briggs said, disconnecting the call.

Eliot cursed under his breath.

"Hardison," Nate said over the comms. "Parker's in position. Get her access to the twenty-seventh floor."

"On it," Hardison said. "I can get you up to twenty overriding the keypads with the internal wireless, but after that it's retinal scans and card swipes."

"I got it," Parker said. "Every room has a window. If Eliot can keep them distracted long enough, I can grab the kids and get to Sophie."

"Ready when you are," Sophie said, hidden from view on the other side of the building with a waiting car. Nate and Eliot had insisted Luke and Dani stay at the house. They hadn't been happy about it, but if Briggs realized they'd come along the kids' safety would be in even more jeopardy.

"Goin' in," Eliot said, watching a man in a dark suit cross the parking lot to him.

They met in silence and Eliot followed the man into the building, every inch of him dying to take the guy out and fight his way to Cohen and Alice but he knew he couldn't risk Briggs hurting them. So he got in the elevator and kept his hands to himself as they rode up. They walked down a hallway, finally stopping at an office door. Eliot steeled himself for what would be in there. The last time he'd seen Briggs he'd almost gotten killed and he wasn't looking forward to this encounter either, especially with the fates of his niece and nephew in the balance.

The man opened the door and gestured for Eliot to enter. The hitter's eyes swept the room quickly, not seeing any sign of the kids. Briggs stood at the far end of the room, alone, his hands clasped in front of him, dressed in camouflage.

He smiled. "Just like you left me, aren't I?"

"Where are they, Briggs?" Eliot said, not moving from the doorway.

Briggs ran his hands over his head and gave a strange laugh. "I told you I would find you. Remember? That day in South Africa? I told you I'd find you."

"Where are they?" Eliot asked again, his fists clenched.

"You thought you could keep running, didn't you? You thought you could run away, just like you did that day. Just like you did in Kuwait, right Spencer?" Briggs stepped toward him, his face dark with anger.

"I was comin' back for you," Eliot said softly, his jaw tight.

Briggs laughed, still walking toward him. "I rotted in a prison camp for fourteen months."

Eliot just watched him.

"Go ahead, tell me it wasn't your fault." He spread his hands. "You were just obeying orders, right?"

Eliot didn't speak but his breath caught in his chest a little. He knew it was his fault, and maybe he deserved this, but his family didn't. "Walk away, Briggs," he warned.

"I don't think so," the other man said, now just a couple of feet from the hitter. "I'm here to collect the debt you owe me. You cost me my life, my work, my family, everything! So guess what, Eliot Spencer? You get the same."

Eliot tensed, readying himself for a fight. But Briggs just turned to the window and nodded toward it. Eliot's eyes flicked over to it and, to his horror, Cohen and Alice were dangling outside by a harness, their hands tied and mouths gagged. The team had assumed Briggs was keeping them on the top and most secure floor, but they hadn't anticipated them being outside the building.

The anger that had been growing in him since Luke's phone call swelled and he grabbed Briggs by his shirt, pinning him against the wall and slamming his fist against his face.

"I'll drop them!" Briggs screamed as Eliot raised his fist again. He paused. "I have men on the roof and at one word from me, they plummet twenty-seven floors to the concrete!"

Eliot released him, unwilling to take that chance and stepped back. "This isn't their fight, Briggs!" he said, furious. "Do whatever the hell you want to me, but if you hurt those kids I swear I'll kill you!"

"Eliot, we're gonna find a way to get them down, just stall," Nate said suddenly in his ear, and the panic Eliot was feeling lowered a notch. His team knew where the kids were.

Briggs nodded at the man who had brought Eliot up and the guy moved forward with handcuffs. Briggs looked at him, then pointedly glanced out the window. Eliot lowered his chin, glaring as he held out his hands. The man slapped the cuffs on and stepped back.

"Get down," Briggs said, pulling out the pistol that was holstered at his hip.

Eliot remained standing, loathe to kneel and give up another advantage.

Briggs nodded to the man standing behind Eliot and he sent a sharp kick to the back of Eliot's knees, forcing him to drop to the floor.

"What're you gonna do?" he asked Briggs, smirking up at him. "Just kill me outright? Execution style? I thought you'd want to make me suffer first."

Briggs raised the pistol. "What makes you think I'm going to kill you? We were friends, Spencer. Don't you remember being friends?"

Eliot watched him, forcing himself to steady his breaths. "We had some good times."

"Yeah, we did didn't we?" he stepped back, a smile on his face. "We were friends." Then he raised the pistol and smashed it across Eliot's face.

Eliot's head snapped to the side and he could feel the blood from his nose run down into his mouth.

"Friends don't desert each other to the enemy!" Briggs screamed. He grabbed Eliot's jaw, their faces suddenly inches away. "You promised when you got on that plane that you would come back!" He stepped away, releasing Eliot.

"I meant what I said," Eliot said as Briggs turned away, rubbing a hand across his head again. "I was gonna come back, Mason. I was always gonna come back, but it wasn't up to me!"

Briggs chuckled wearily. "And that makes everything fine and dandy."

"No," Eliot said, the pain he'd felt at being forced to desert his companion all those years ago welling up again. He felt a sudden need to make Briggs understand. "It doesn't. It doesn't make it okay. I wish every day that it hadn't happened like that!"

The pistol hung loosely at Briggs' side, his face still turned away. "I bet you do."

"Eliot, we got them," Parker said into his ear.

His eyes flicked to the window. The kids were no longer dangling outside, and Eliot didn't waste another moment. He launched himself off the floor, slamming his head backwards into the nose of the man standing over him hard enough to knock him out and hurtled toward Briggs.

Briggs turned, his face a mask of fury and raised the pistol but he couldn't get a shot off before Eliot was on him. Eliot grabbed the gun, his hands still cuffed, and it went off over his left shoulder before he brought his knee into Briggs' ribs and twisted his wrist forcing the gun out of the larger man's grip. But Briggs still remembered his training and landed three short punches to Eliot's stomach before they broke the hold. Eliot stepped back and snapped a kick at Briggs' knee but he turned and it was only a glancing blow. The other man came at him with a crazed fury and blocked his first few punches, but one of them landed on his temple, making him stumble to the side. Briggs followed up with a kick to Eliot's stomach and he staggered into the window, giving Briggs enough time to reclaim his gun.

He leveled it at Eliot, breathing heavily. "I have nothing left to say to you," he growled, and fired the pistol.

Eliot was moving before he pulled the trigger but the bullet grazed his left arm. He didn't even notice, just ran at Briggs before he could get another shot off, tackling him to the ground, the gun skidding across the floor. He slammed his fists into Briggs' face over and over.

When Briggs' face was a bloody mess and his eyes started rolling in his head, Eliot paused. "Don't mess with my family," he growled, landing one final punch and sending Briggs into unconsciousness.

Eliot stood, wiping at his still-bleeding nose with the back of his hand. "Where're the kids?"

"Up here on the roof," Parker said.

"We're on our way down," Hardison added. "We'll meet you there."

Eliot paused. "Hardison? What are you doing here?"

"I thought you might need some backup," Nate said. "When we realized where the kids were, Parker and Hardison climbed the outside from the twentieth floor but we knew there would be guards."

"So _Hardison _took them out?" Eliot asked incredulously, heading for the stairwell.

"Well, I had my taser," Parker said as if that explained everything.

Eliot just shook his head as he went over to Briggs' goon and searched him for the handcuff key. He unlocked his wrists and started up the stairs, hearing footsteps not far above him. He raced up, needing to make sure for himself that Cohen and Alice were okay, and it wasn't long before he had visual confirmation. Cohen ran down the stairs, flinging himself down the last few steps into Eliot's arms and Eliot held him tightly, so relieved he could barely breath.

Alice was in Hardison's arms, her big blue eyes filled with terrified tears, but she leaned away from him and Eliot drew her into the hug too, his anger returning as he felt both the kids trembling.

"It's okay," he told them gently. "It's okay, now. We're gonna go home. I'm gonna take you home." Alice wrapped both arms and legs around him and he held Cohen's hand tightly as they rode the elevator down to the bottom floor. Sophie and Nate drove up in the rental car, and Nate climbed out.

"Get them home Eliot," he said, giving the hitter a nod. "Sophie can drive you and we'll finish the cleanup here."

Eliot nodded his thanks and climbed in the backseat with both the kids, keeping them close, Alice on his lap and Cohen nestled snugly under his arm.

"All right back there?" Sophie said quietly.

Eliot nodded again, feeling like speech was a little beyond him at the moment. Sophie gave him a relieved smile and they started for home.

"Uncle Eliot?" Cohen said softly.

"Yeah, bud?" Eliot said, looking down at his dark curls.

"I really missed you."

Eliot just tightened his arm around the ten-year-old, his small shoulders warm and real and alive under his arm. "I missed you too," he said, and suddenly realized the biggest regret he would have about how his life had gone wasn't going to be the enemies he made but the family he was forced to leave behind.


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you all so much for the favorites and follows and reviews! Sadly, this is the last chapter. But I'm pretty fond of Eliot's "real" family so maybe they'll make another appearance someday soon. Thanks for reading! And thanks to my faithful and wonderful beta, CaraLee934!

* * *

In the flurry of joy that the kids' return caused, Eliot slipped away into the bathroom to see if the wound on his arm needed stitches. He pulled his shirt off slowly, avoiding his own eyes in the mirror and cleaned himself up, grateful that Luke and Dani kept their home equipped with first-aid supplies. He decided that his arm would probably need stitches eventually but a pressure bandage would do for now, and his ribs were just bruised, not broken. His nose had finally stopped bleeding, too.

He left the bathroom, his shirt a bloody wad in his hand, expecting to have time to find one of Luke's shirts to use before anyone noticed his absence, but his brother was standing in the hall.

They stared at each other for a moment, neither of them being a man of many words. Finally, Luke spoke. "Thanks, little brother."

The corner of Eliot's mouth went up. "Do you mean thanks for getting them kidnapped in the first place or thanks for saving them?"

Luke looked down, his arms folded tightly across his broad chest. "Thanks for coming back here. After ..."

"Didn't come for you," Eliot said, walking past him.

Luke reached out, grabbing his elbow. Eliot shook him off immediately, turning to glare.

"Eliot, Dani … she wants me to talk to you."

"Yeah, I remember what happened last time we talked," Eliot said.

"I was angry," Luke said, his own eyes flashing.

"You didn't trust me," Eliot hissed. "I said there was nothing between me and Dani, and there wasn't. But you couldn't let it go, Luke. You never just let it go. So don't think you can stand here and talk to me like things are still the way they used to be. You told me if I ever came back here, if I talked to your kids you'd get a _restraining _order!"

Luke clenched his jaw. "Fine. We won't talk. But you gotta know, the kids … Cohen, he talks about you all the time. Always asking us when you'll come back. So come back once in a while, will you?"

Eliot watched his brother stalk back down the hall, surprised. He shook his head and went into the master bedroom to grab a shirt before rejoining everyone in the living room.

Luke avoided his eyes, but Dani put Alice down long enough to hug him, this time crying happy tears. "Thank you so much," she said.

He hugged her back. "Anytime, Dani."

Cohen, a bit more shy now that the crisis was over, approached Eliot, looking up at him with Dani's green eyes. "Can you stay?" he asked.

Eliot looked up at Luke, and to his surprise, he nodded. "Yeah, Cohen. I think I can for a bit."

The boy's face lit up. "Seriously? 'Cause I got the new Call of Duty game and we could totally play it. If you want."

Eliot smiled at him. "You know, I got a friend who could probably show you a couple things."

They all stayed for a few days. Sophie and Alice, who was the girliest of little girls, ended up hitting it off and there were tea parties and shopping trips with Dani. Parker was endlessly fascinated with the fact that Eliot had a brother and followed Luke around pestering him with questions until Nate took her aside and told her she should probably stop.

And Eliot was right. Hardison was happy to show Cohen all the cheats for his new game. And every night, after Dani tucked the kids into bed, they requested Eliot's presence in their room. He sat on the floor between their beds and hummed songs to them until they drifted off, secure in the knowledge that he would keep them safe. He would always keep his family safe.


End file.
